'You're going to need another £400m' - West Ham owners told 'big' new cost
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Credit: Imago/Getty
Alex Oakhill
Thu 11 September 2025 7:00, UK
West Ham United have been told that they need an investment of up to £400million into the club.
It has been a tumultuous summer for the East London side, who lost star man Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham midway through the transfer window.
Hammers fans have been disappointed with the poor investment in the squad in recent times, and there has also been longstanding discontent with the lack of atmosphere at the London Stadium.
The 62,500 seater arena was built for the 2012 Olympics, which means that, as a football ground, it is missing key characteristics.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes it could take between £350m and £400m to make the stadium more suitable for West Ham.
The London Stadium is disliked by many fans
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the need to spend so much on the stadium could discourage potential buyers from registering their interest in the club.
To make matters worse, the UK is bidding for the World Athletics Championships in 2029, which would take place at the London Stadium, and would delay any development work for another four years.
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Wyness added that West Ham need a change in their ownership at some stage to fix the problem of their ground.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “When I’m listening to West Ham fans right now and looking at things, their main dissatisfaction, apart from obviously the board, the manager, and the quality of players, is the stadium.
“That’s a big problem for them in terms of being at the London Stadium and it still being an athletics track.
I see that the UK is bidding for the World Athletics Championships in 2029, and the London Stadium is still the home of UK Athletics.
“Therefore, you’d expect no major redevelopment until after that was gone in 2029.
So that may stop some potential buyers from looking at West Ham, because you’ve got to fix the stadium in some way.
“As I understand it, you’re going to need another £350m to £400m to fix the London Stadium and make it into more of a football-type stadium.
“I think it does need, at some stage, to move into a new ownership position and get somebody in that’s going to really do something with that stadium.”
Meanwhile, West Ham have been handed a “huge boost” for the season after Lucas Paqueta made clear his desire to stay.
Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media
That is according to their former chief scout, Mick Brown, who claims that Graham Potter will be delighted to have kept a key player at the club.
The 28-year-old decided to snub a move away amid rumours of a switch to Aston Villa, while late interest from Saudi Pro League sides is also unlikely to bear fruit.
The Saudi transfer window is still open until 23 September, but the Brazilian’s firm decision to stick with West Ham has ended talk of any potential transfer.
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